The Vampire's Warden

by S. J. Wright

  I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. What I was about to do might get people killed. If I did not do it, my sister was in danger. My palms began to sweat and I rubbed them against my jeans. It was too serious of a burden for someone like me, I thought. Too many things had gone so wrong lately. Surely, I was not the person to make these kinds of life-altering decisions. However, if not me, then who? Certainly not Katie. It was all up to me. Whatever decision I made would change things forever. Nevertheless, there was no other way.

  Gritting my teeth and crossing my fingers, I said the necessary words. And I hoped to God that Gunter and Luanna had convinced Michael to help us. If not, it was very likely that Katie, Alex and I would end up dead.

  Chapter Eleven

  Victoria entered with the grace and unerring patience that had served her for centuries. She stopped for a moment at Alex’s side, touched his arm gently, and whispered a few eloquent words that seemed to calm him. He dropped his look to the gravel driveway when she turned from him and approached me.

  “I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Wood. Perhaps we can become friends once this momentous evening comes to an end.”

  Her pleasant hazel eyes and genteel words were soothing and I found myself hoping that if things went wrong with the rogues she had come here with, she might intervene on our behalf. Once the thought entered my head, she pressed cool fingers to my jaw and nodded.

  “Victoria?” Nathan approached us, followed by the two goons who were holding my sister. Katie still had tears trailing down her cheeks but the intensity of her fear seemed to have subsided for the moment. Nathan gestured at my sister, “Shall we release her or wait until we see Michael?”

  “Keep her for now.” Victoria replied crisply, “And I’m tired of sitting in that awful excuse for a vehicle. We’re walking from here.” She turned and began marching up the driveway, holding her skirt up slightly as she made her way toward the house. I cast a quick look at Katie again to make sure she was calming down. The tears had stopped and she was only sniffling a little bit.

  She answered my questioning expression with a little nod, “I’m okay.”

  I hoped she was being sincere and not just putting on a brave face. Given the amount of emotional upheaval we had both been through lately, it would not shock me if Katie totally lost her mind after this night was over. As for me, I was a tough cookie. My father had known exactly how much I could handle. I kept telling myself that I accompanied four vampires, a former vampire, and my recently kidnapped sister up the driveway in the direction of the house. Sure, no problem. I could totally handle this.

  Alex fell into step beside me, “You okay?”

  “Scared.” I tried to suppress a shudder that gripped my spine and twisted through me sickeningly.

  “Me too.”

  “Alex, why did she call you her brother?”

  He stared ahead, indecision darkening his pale face, and it took a moment for him to answer, “I’m not completely sure.”

  I watched Victoria’s slim figure striding ahead of us, past the house, barn and ever closer to the creek and meadow. Whether or not I could trust her, I had no faith in the vampires holding my sister. I wanted to rip her away from them and run to the house, lock the door behind us and pray that the vampires would lose interest and go away. However, I was no fool. They would rip her delicate throat out before I could even so much as turn my head, and her blood would fall fast on the gravel lane, darkening the stones in a sickening pool that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

  Everyone came to a halt at the edge of the meadow. There was a complete absence of sound—from the trees, the lack of wind, the birds roosting sleepily in the branches of the big oak by the creek. It was as if the whole world were holding its breath, waiting to see what tragedy might unfold there in that space.

  I tried to reach out with all my senses, trying desperately to catch some hint that the tide had turned in our favor. There was no phoenix rising to reassure me of the fate that was about to befall us. There was only simple, terrible silence and the bitter scent of fear thick as morning mist hanging in the air.

  There was a singular precious moment when I felt oddly alone there at the edge of that familiar field. It was an instant of internal warmth, infused with the solid knowledge that this place belonged to me and I to it. However, it was not nearly enough to quell the rising fear inside me.

  “Michael, come out.” Victoria’s voice was elegant and precise, while her eyes blazed with some new passion that seemed strangely at home in her child-like features.

  A shadowy silhouette emerged from behind the thick trunk of the oak tree and as it moved carefully in our direction us, I recognized the smooth and natural movement as Michael’s. His beautiful face materialized in the darkness inch by inch until he stood a hundred yards from us.

  “You are well?” Victoria asked simply.

  He did not answer right away. He surveyed the group before him with a sweeping, deliberate look that never reached all the way to me. He noted the presence of my sister with a hint of surprise on his face, but his mouth was set in a firm line that did not give away much about how he felt about his visitors.

  “I have been locked up here for far too long, but I have not suffered.”

  I waited for his eyes to skip over to me, to drink in my image and hold it tenderly. I must have overestimated his feelings, because not once did he even glance my way. Victoria took a few cautious steps forward, and then went down on her knees in humbled supplication. Her hair gleamed serenely in the moonlight that filtered through the trees.

  “My prince, it is a joy to be in your company again.” She whispered reverently.

  Michael waved a hand at her, “Rise. We are not at court, Victoria. There’s no need for such civilities here.”

  A courtly prince? I watched this exchange carefully and began to wonder about the whereabouts of Gunter and Luanna. Would he have attacked them to secure his release? Were they somewhere in the shadows, lying helpless and bleeding and cursing the Council for sending them here?

  “I have come to free you, my prince.” Victoria murmured as she rose from the ground, her eyes still downcast.

  Michael shot a quick look at me that warned me clearly to keep my mouth shut. A hundred sharp retorts sprung to mind, but my temper could hold until I was sure that my sister would be safe. I clenched the muscles in my jaw to fight the anger swelling in me and looked away from him. If Katie were not in so much trouble, I would have walked up and hit him. Stupid vampires.

  “I trust you’ve been properly introduced to my hostess?” Michael said.

  Victoria glanced at me briefly over her shoulder, “I gave her my name, nothing more.”

  “Sarah” Michael began steadily, “This is Victoria Stanley. We met in Boston in 1816.”

  My mouth remained closed.

  “She was one of the last vampires I created.” His eyes flicked quickly over to Alex, whose face was a mask of instant hatred.

  “Are you going to try to leave with them?” I asked him quietly.

  “What do you propose, Victoria? You have Sarah’s sister for a good reason, I presume?”

  She sighed, “As insurance only. I needed an invitation.”

  Nathan, who had remained silent up to that point, suddenly spoke out in a harsh tone, “Insurance? You promised we could have her once you got Michael. You promised some of his blood as well!”

  The two burly vampires that stood on either side of Katie tensed. One of them let loose a growl that sounded like the throaty cry of a cougar. I saw Katie begin struggling, and then Nathan echoed the same spine-tingling scream of his companion. One of the vamps holding my sister turned to her with eyes that were lit with fiery, desperate hunger, and I saw the canines in his mouth suddenly lengthen as he howled in anger.

  However, it was the lightening flash of movement across the clearing and sudden heart-wrenching scream from Alex that frightened me more than anything did. Gunter had come to join the party, and h
e was hungry. Jerking Alex’s head back using a fistful of hair, he promptly sank his teeth into the flesh right above Alex’s shoulder and tore a steaming chunk of flesh away, blood dripping thickly on the gray lapel of Gunter’s silk sport coat. Alex collapsed in the vampire’s arms, his eyes wild with pain and his screams shrill in the cool night air.

  I froze for just a few seconds; my instinct to flee was at war with my need to help Katie and the horror of seeing Alex being attacked. However, Michael had intervened. One of the two vampires holding Katie was writhing on the ground, clutching his head in his huge hands and moaning while Michael held one of his own hands out, palm up with his eyes squeezed shut. The other one had dropped my sister’s arm to defend himself against the sudden and unexpected attack from Victoria, who was circling him in a crouch, her eyes bright with bloodlust.

  Rushing to Katie, I twisted my ankle and landed hard on the wet ground, my hands splayed before me. Pain shot through my palms and fingers. Glancing up, I realized that Gunter was nearly done with his late-night snack and had set his sights on me for dessert. I shrieked and tried to rise to my feet only to find that my right ankle was nearly useless. The pain flowed up my leg like molten metal, curling through me with a rush that left me gasping.

  The image of Gunter striding toward me, his fangs pearly white and his dark face set in determination was the stuff of nightmares. I had never known such a paralyzing fear before; it stopped my breath and made me go cold all over. Death was walking in my direction in slow motion, and my limbs refused to obey any commands to move, to help me get away from the monster stalking me.

  I tried to shrink back as the vampire closed in on me. As his terrible white hands reached for my throat, I heard an awful ripping sound. Gunter froze, his fingers already brushing the sensitive skin around my collarbones. He fell partially on top of me, his eyes open but unseeing. The fingers did not wrap around my skin as I had feared but fell lifeless to my side.

  Gasping and sputtering in terror, I scrambled back on two good hands and one good leg. When I saw the long wooden stake that had penetrated Gunter from the back, a scream tore from my throat that I hardly recognized as my own. I saw Victoria across the clearing, her arm still aloft and her expression cold as stone after having thrown the stake that had saved my life.

  “Sarah!” I heard Katie’s familiar voice and soon felt her warm fingers grasping at me.

  “Alex needs help.” That was Victoria’s voice, hushed and serious, “Michael, he’s dying.”

  I heard a responding curse and then Michael was there beside me, his clear blue eyes searching my face in desperation “Are you alright?”

  “Just my ankle. Don’t worry about me. What about Alex?”

  “He’s lost too much blood, Sarah.”

  “Oh, no. No, you have to get help for him! Call Dr. Fleming!”

  “It’s too late for that.”

  I considered his words and then firmly shook my head, “No, he would never choose to be a vampire again.”

  “He’s going to die, then.”

  Katie spoke up, “We can’t let that happen, Sarah.”

  “You don’t know what you’re saying. He doesn’t want that.”

  “You can’t just let him die!”

  I felt like I was on the edge of committing some great unpardonable sin. However, I could not think of losing Alex like that. He had stood up with me to try to help Katie. Was it a fair trade? Was it what he would want? My God, why did this decision have to fall on me? Hadn’t he wanted to be human again? He had to have known the danger he would have been in, coming here to help me deal with damn vampires!

  “Decide, Sarah. Before it’s too late.” Michael demanded sharply.

  What I was about to do would probably haunt me for the rest of my life. I hated myself for having to make the choice and I hated Michael for even thinking of changing him. Damn it, I could not just let Alex pass from this earth!

  I dropped my head, “Do it.”

  They took him to the edge of the creek. Victoria shielded us from most of what happened. She had managed to kill one of the vampires who had been holding Katie. The other one was laying flat on the ground, not moving. Nathan had been dealt with by Michael. While Gunter had been stalking me, Michael had decapitated Nathan and the evidence of the battle had turned the pristine green field into a bloody mess that I barely had the courage to look at.

  Katie helped me back to the house. My ankle felt like it was on fire, the pain shooting through me and leaving me nauseated. On the other hand, it could have been all the blood I had seen spilled. The knees of my jeans were dark with mud and dew from the wet grass. My hands were scraped and raw from falling. Katie called the doctor as soon as she had me settled on the sofa in the sitting room.

  I tried not to think of what was happening to Alex out there by the creek. Whirling, disturbing images of him gulping down hot blood assailed and strangled me. He was going to hate me for making that decision, I knew. However, the choice had been made and I would have to live with the consequences for the rest of my life. So would he.

  Chapter Twelve

  I sat in the window seat of the dark-paneled study, among the shelves of books and encyclopedias, maps and long-forgotten personal effects of my departed father, and I stared out into the night with a decimated sense of my own heart. Katie had gone to her own room upstairs after the doctor had left, and I sat there in the darkness waiting for the sun to come up.

  My cat, Whiskers, lay beside me on the cushions of the window seat, her eyes half closed, and her dark fluffy tail twitching occasionally. I reached out to stroke her in an effort to bring myself back to reality.

  The doctor had been shocked when he had heard that Gunter had turned on us. The disappearance of Luanna had yet to be explained, and I had heard nothing from either Victoria or Michael since Katie had helped me hobble back to the house on my sprained ankle. Dr. Fleming was sure that it was only a minor sprain, but advised me to have it x-rayed as soon as possible to check for a possible hairline fracture of my foot. He had brought in a pair of crutches he had had in the trunk of his car and had left me there in the study after assuring me that he would be contacting the Council to get their assurance that Gunter’s actions had not been condoned by them. But what if that had been the plan all along? After the doctor had walked out, I considered the possibility that the Council may want me out of the way.

  If a group of ancient, deadly vampires wanted me dead, then what hope was there that I might keep my sister and me safe? What about Victoria? Could she be trusted? Whiskers purred soothingly beside me, lessening the increasing panic that was beginning to take root in my head.

  A light tap at the window yanked me back to the present, and I saw Michael outside waiting for me. Whiskers hissed and leapt away from the window in a streak of black fur. I watched her dully, feeling oddly unconcerned about her reaction and walked over to the French doors that led out onto the back patio.

  I twisted the knob and pulled the door open just a little. He stood beyond the patio; the shadows surrounding his lithe, masculine body were frighteningly dark. Determined not to step outside, I just watched him and waited patiently for news.

  “You’re not coming out?”

  I shook my head.

  He lowered his crystal blue eyes and the brows above them crinkled in worry, “I can understand you wanting to be cautious after what happened tonight.”

  “Just tell me what’s going on.” I replied tightly, “I’m tired.”

  Pursing his lips, his gaze rose again to my face and I almost started to weep, feeling all the pent-up fear and black anger rise up in me like a thunderstorm. I was so tired and so sick of being strong under all the pressures that had been brought for me alone to bear.

  “Alex is recovering. He’s been turned successfully.”

  “I see. I guess I owe you some gratitude. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m not terribly thrilled about this whole thing.”

  “He’ll be very angry when he
realizes what’s truly happened.”

  I shivered, imagining how deep Alex’s hatred for me would run. It had been selfish to choose to keep him here, with me, when he had wanted real life. Real life included death, didn’t it?

  “Victoria will be staying a little while, if that’s agreeable to you.” He voice had become clipped and stern; the words came faster, “I’ve looked for Luanna. She has hidden herself well. I’d advise you and Katie not to be out after dark until I can find her.”

  “And I suppose you will not be trying to escape?” I inquired a little hastily.

  “I will not.”

  “Okay. Dr. Fleming is checking with the Council to see what went wrong with Gunter.”